


In the carpenter's hands

by yeahitsdee



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Banter, Carpenter!Kara Danvers, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jack's like a big brother, Kara is a gentlewoman, Meet-Cute, POV Lena Luthor, Running Away, Star-crossed, TENSIONN, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, gal pals in a cottage with a garden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23456221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeahitsdee/pseuds/yeahitsdee
Summary: "Life went on as always, with the exception of a certain carpenter plaguing her mind. Kara was hidden around every corner, in every book she opened, at every silent meal she endured, Lena felt as though she was losing her mind. She had been offered a taste of freedom, a taste of something she had never had, and now she felt more suffocated within the lavish walls of the extravagant estate than ever before."orLena makes friends with the charismatic carpenter in a small village on her way to Paris, and now the blonde with warm callused hands refuses to leave Lena's mind after she returns home.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 23
Kudos: 374





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you all are doing well, and enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Lena sat, bumping along the deeply rutted road in her plush carriage. Lillian sat across from her, staring out the window at each little village they passed through. They were on their way to Paris to pick up some little piece of vanity that Lillian wanted. She hadn't bothered in listening to what it was. A particularly deep rut gave the carriage a harsh jolt, Lena didn't think much of it until she heard the violent cracking of wood. The coach dipped sideways suddenly tossing Lena and Lillian off balance, the coachmen hopped down into the mud to inspect the damage. Lena followed, despite Lillian's protest, climbed out and joined Jack next to the now cockeyed wheel. 

She felt her feet sinking into the thick mud and swallowed a smile, ruining the thousand-dollar pair of shoes filled her with something akin to happiness. The small, almost imperceptible act of defiance made her feel giddy. Jack, her coachmen and one of her only friends, gave her a small frown. The sludge stole one of her shoes and left streaks of grime and filth clinging to the lacy hem of her dress. It felt almost perfect. 

"She's going to kill you, you know," Jack informed from the corner of his mouth. 

"Then at least I died doing what I loved," 

"Struggling through the mud in 7 frocks?" 

"Giving Lillian a fit," 

"Lena, would you get back in here before you ruin something else," a shrill voice commanded, "and don't touch anything, " 

"Speak of the devil, and she'll come calling," Lena mumbled, earning a look of disapproval from Jack, they would laugh about it later, but for now he shook his head. 

Lena sat with her legs hanging from the coach, book up to her nose, occasionally glancing up when she heard Jack speak with the voice that had come to join him, she only saw the person's legs poking out from under the carriage, but their voice had a soft, feminine quality to it. 

Jack poked his head in to speak with Lillian, and shortly thereafter she was walking the street with Lillian in search of the town's inn. 

////////// 

Lena knew that she wouldn't live to see the end of the week at the inn. At least in the manor, Lena could avoid direct contact with Lillian, using the acres of untread land and untouched hallways to her advantage, but the dinky inn offered no such comfort. She needed an out. 

Such an out came in the form of Jack offering to go check the progress of the repairs and get something to eat. Lena all but begged to go along with him. When she finally managed to escape to the street, she breathed in deep, it smelled of horses and wet earth, and she savored it. They arrived at the Carpenter's shop, and Lena finally got to meet the voice that offered them help. She was tall, blond, caked with mud from under the coach, with broad shoulders that her loose white shirt hung from. The woman bowed when Lena approached her, took her hand, kissed her knuckles, called her Miss. 

"Just Lena will do," the formal titles always had made her skin crawl. 

Her name was Kara, she had callused hands and kind blue eyes, she was polite to a fault and moved with her own confident air of grace. Grace different from the practiced robotic form that was taught to Lena from a young age, but comfort in her skin, in her space. 

Kara promised that they would be fixed up and ready for Paris in a week's time, that it would be sooner, but she had other clients who were to be helped first. She smiled the smile of someone just doing their job. 

Lena returned to the inn solemn and ready to pester Lillian until she could wander the town with Jack. Maybe she would run into Kara while she was out. 

////////// 

Lena hovered around Kara's shop for most of the following afternoon, she wandered about, occasionally managing a glance in at the carpenter. She was on her fourth lap around the bookstore next door when Kara caught her eye from the front stoop of her workshop. Lena drank in her appearance, messy from work, hair tied up away from her face. She was beautiful, more beautiful than any maiden or mistress that had ever crossed Lena's path. 

Kara glanced up and gave Lena a wave, Lena feigned surprise and waved back. She crossed the rutted mud road to Kara and laughed as though she had no idea that Kara would be around, "What a coincidence running into you again so soon," 

Kara smiled, her eyes shone, just a little too knowing, and she spoke almost smugly, "oh yes, a more welcomed coincidence than most, though I feel that there may have been more at play than mere coincidence, Miss," 

She fiddled idly with the contraption in her hands, watching Lena stutter and blush, rarely did she make such a fool of herself; even rarer still did someone call her folly. She found that despite the scorching heat of humiliation, she didn't mind the interaction, didn't mind the teasing. She found it refreshing in a way she was unfamiliar with. 

Kara gave a laugh, gentle and melodic, "I merely jest, I can't imagine much time with that chilly woman would be bearable," her smile quickly fell from her face, sliding off to the cracked board beneath her feet, "I- I mean, I mean no offense, Miss, I shouldn't assume such things," 

"Fret not, Lillian is entirely unbearable," they shared a laugh before Lena spoke again, "could I watch you work? I don't mean to intrude, but I'm curious, I've never seen this type of work done before," 

"Of course, my lady, watch as you please," she gave a charming smile and nod, lingering for a moment before turning back and working on her contraption. 

////////// 

Lena spent the majority of the following days trailing after Kara like a lost puppy. She sat on a stool in the corner of the shop and watched Kara move about with that air of grace she wore so well. It wasn't practiced, it simply was, it mesmerized Lena, captivated her attention in a way no other thing could, it was beautiful. Watching Kara bounce around her shop, the familiarity in every movement, she preferred it to every expensive ballet that Lillian had ever dragged her to. She learned that Kara had originally come to the town as a carpenter, but that she did a bit of anything anyone needed. 

One day Lena was curiously watching Kara sand down a wooden ring, watching the way her hands flexed and the way her tendons pushed against her skin when Kara stopped. She looked up to Lena and smiled, "Would you like to try?" 

Lena watched her for a moment longer, weary of the request, but slowly she slipped from her stool and approached the workbench. Kara's smile grew impossibly wider as she demonstrated the sanding once more and then pressed the wheel and sanding tool into Lena's hands. She attempted to mirror Kara's movements but only succeeded in catching the side of her thumb with the rough material, tearing the skin, it didn't bleed, but it was jarring enough to drop everything she was holding and curse. 

Kara ignored the wheel and the sandpaper and caught Lena's hands, examining them, she sighed, her posture relaxing when she found that no real damage had been done, "Perhaps you'd like a hand?" 

Lena wanted to say no, to go back to her stool and watch Kara's hands as she worked, but her smile was so charming, and she offered her hands to Lena, she felt she had no other choice but to agree. She would tell herself it was all so she wouldn't hurt Kara's feelings, an act of sympathy, but under the cloak of lies lay the truth, the fact that she longed to feel Kara's warm worker's hands cradle her own for a few minutes more. She savored the way Kara guided her gently through the task, moving with a natural fluidity that she passed on through Lena's hands, the heat from the carpenter's palms a beautiful contrast to the rough skin of her fingers. 

The feeling of Kara's breath on Lena's neck wrapped a coil haphazardly in her lungs, it grew tight and wound up her throat, balling tightly, rapidly making it hard to swallow down the feelings building within her. It was desire, desire for something she hadn't experienced in years, something she could never indulge in, especially with Kara. But it continued to build, continued to constrict, threatening to overflow, she hadn't the faintest clue what might happen when it did but knew it would damage the strange temporary friendship they shared. The surface tension of desire inside of her was threatening to break, the emotion building within her with every breath Kara released over her skin, she knew she was doomed when Kara breathed another hot breath against the back of her neck and pressed ever closer to Lena. As Lena turned her head towards Kara, as their noses millimeters apart, the door opened. 

Jack stood in the door, eyes wide, all was silent and still as they stared, then, in a sudden burst, Jack jumped and turned on his heels, spouting apologies and hurrying to close the door. 

Kara stepped away, taking the wheel and sandpaper from Lena, clearing her throat and taking note of the time, warning Lena that she should begin to make her way towards the inn before Lillian went on a tear. Lena nodded, making her way towards the door on shaky legs, offering a quiet goodbye and a curt wave. From the porch, she saw Kara's shoulders relax with a shudder as she leaned on the workbench for support. Some recklessly hopeful part of her hoped that maybe it was because Kara felt the same crushing flood of emotion that threatened to drown Lena in its warmth. 

She was broken from her thoughts when Jack chuckled beside her, "Well, I'd say she looks to have been thrown thoroughly off-kilter," he smiled at her, eyes knowing, sympathetic, "though I am terribly sorry for ruining the moment," 

"No, it's fine Jack, nothing can ever happen between us, we only have a few days left in this town, I don't want to ruin the one good thing here," Lena said as she turned from the window and began down the road. 

"What am I? Chopped liver?" he tried to sound scandalized as he hurried after Lena. 

"When you're stuck within 40 feet of Lillian at any given moment, yes, yes you are," the remark was met with a bump to the shoulder, earning a small smile in return. 

///////////// 

Lena arrived in Kara's shop the next day, albeit a bit later than usual, she had taken up an hour pacing the market square deliberating whether or not to go. 

She pushed the door open and met Kara as she was on her way out, they both jumped and stared for a second before Kara gave a blinding smile, "And here I was thinking that you had forgotten all about little old me," and just like that she was back in, back into the comfortable, fleeting, routine they had fallen into. 

She followed Kara around to the back of the shop, to where the coach sat waiting to be fixed. She took a seat on a low stump and watched as Kara began propping up the carriage so she could safely pull the axle out for repairs. She watched as Kara dropped the axel from the body of the coach, as she broke it down and salvaged the metal pieces from it. The broken axle found a home in the back woodpile, and Kara began taking measurements for the new one. The whole process filled Lena with a sense of melancholy, she found that she didn't want to leave, didn't want to stop having long conversations with Kara while she worked, didn't want to stop watching as she moved around the shop. 

By the end of the day, Kara was drenched in sweat, and the new axle was whittled down to size from a thick log, all it needed was wheels. They would be leaving tomorrow, a day ahead of schedule. Lillian would be ecstatic. They stood in front of the shop, dragging out their farewells for the night when Kara offered to walk Lena back to the inn. She cited the encroaching darkness and danger found in traveling alone. Lena let her, taking Kara's offered arm and leaning into her as they walked, they didn't speak, opting simply to bask in the presence of one another. 

Lena was reluctant to leave her at the door, she couldn't bear the thought of never seeing Kara again, a horse riding by broke her from her detailed analysis of Kara's face enough to press a long kiss to her cheek before hurrying into the inn. She watched Kara walk away from the window of her room while Lillian berated her for staying out so late with that unmarried hoodlum woman who wore trousers. 

She made no effort to see Kara the next day, she couldn't stomach seeing her again, she stayed holed up in the room until Jack came to fetch them. As they rode out of the town, she kept her face buried in her book, too afraid of catching a glimpse of Kara. The further they rode, the more her eyes stung with tears she couldn't let fall. 

/////////// 

Lena had been back in the Luthor manor for nearly three weeks upon returning from Paris with a garish dress she hoped she would never have to actually wear. Life went on as always, with the exception of a certain carpenter plaguing her tired mind. Kara was hidden around every corner, in every book she opened, at every silent meal she endured, Lena felt as though she was losing her mind. She had been offered a taste of freedom, a taste of something she had never had, and now she felt more suffocated within the lavish walls of the extravagant estate than ever before. 

During one particularly restless night, she was struck with an idea. A realization, "I can leave," she said to no one but herself, she felt ridiculous for not realizing it earlier. Nothing was keeping her in this stifling house with these stifling people. She had grown to detest this house and most of the people who set foot in it. 

The plan began to form that night, she plotted and conspired with Jack, they had a foolproof, simple plan, but they had to wait. At the end of the week, Jack had to deliver a message to a duke several villages south, the message was supposed to be an acceptance of a marriage proposal on Lena's behalf. The whole situation made Lena chuckle, even as she donned the ragged dress that Jack supplied and climbed onto the back of his horse with giddy anticipation. 

They rode till they reached the rutted road that ran through Kara's small village, there Jack helped her from his horse and left her to walk through town. He trotted off, and Lena began her way to the carpenter's shop. She made it in a haze of disbelief and knocked with a shaky hand. 

Kara stood on the other side of the door in a long shirt, trousers pulled on hastily, squinting at Lena with tired eyes, "Miss Luthor?" 

Lena nodded, eyes dropping to the floor, catching sight of Kara's bare toes, poking out from the hems of her pant legs. 

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" even as she said it, she stepped away from the door, allowing Lena in, checking the street before closing it. 

"I was running from the Luthor manor and wondered if you would house me for a short period while I decide what to do." She used her most diplomatic voice despite the feeling that her request was nothing short of disrespectful. She shouldn't be thrusting herself upon this poor woman simply because she wished to run from home like a teenager in false peril, "I apologize, I simply couldn't bear another moment in that stifling manor," 

Lena stood stiffly in the center of the room, waiting for Kara's answer. She didn't know why she would ever be allowed to stay, but it was worth a try, "I can give you all the money you could ever want," she felt desperate for Kara to agree. Desperate enough to lie. She watched Kara's eyes, watched her mind work silently behind them. 

Kara's eyes met the books Lena clutched to her chest, examined them for a moment, then spoke, "You know how to read?" 

"I do," 

"You are free to stay for as long as you wish, so long as you teach me to read," Kara said gently, her eyes soft with a desire that Lena couldn't decipher. 

"That's all?" 

"That's all" 

"Okay then, you shall learn to read." 

//////////////// 

Lena stood, leaning over Kara's shoulder at her workbench where a book lay open, Kara followed the words with the tip of her callused finger. Candlelight danced around the clean semi-circle of tabletop they were working at. Kara tripped and stumbled over spellings, but she had made leaps and bounds in her two weeks of learning. It was late, but Kara rarely found free time to learn during the day, so Lena taught at night by the dim light of a flickering candle. Her hand found purchase on Kara's shoulder, and she felt the familiar thrill of electricity at the feeling of muscle pulling taut then relaxing under her palm. 

She had long grown accustomed to these small thrills whenever they touched. Despite their initial brevity, she savored them, and gradually they became more drawn out, lingering longer, connecting more firmly. She could admit that Kara was attractive to anyone who asked, it was simply an objective observation, but she forced down the less objective notes she took of Kara. Notes about the way her eyes crinkled around the edges when she smiled; the way her voice was the most beautiful sound to ever grace her ears; the way her heart felt as though it may cry at the sound of Kara's singing. These touches were logged as well, in her secret mental notes, along with the way they made her skin burn, and her stomach seize tightly. 

A harsh knock at the door interrupted their lesson, Lena reluctantly scooped up the book and began to move away from the bench when her foot caught the leg of Kara's chair. Before she hit the ground, she hit Kara's solid arms and found herself inches from freckles and blue eyes. Lena loved the way Kara's eyes looked in the flickering glow of the candlelight. It was a pose built for a ballroom, the final step in a dance that would have left them breathless with scarcely veiled attraction. They stood in limbo, Lena dipped low, Kara staring at her lips, then her eyes, then her lips again. A new note to log. 

There was no time to dissect the new look in Kara's eyes when a second knock sounded. Kara set Lena upright and trailed her eyes from her head to her toe before turning for the door. The moment was gone, but not soon to be forgotten. Lena stood behind her, trying to still her breathing when Kara spoke loudly from the door. 

"I don't know what you mean Mrs. Luthor, why would your daughter be here?" 

The words poured liquid dread into Lena's stomach, eviscerating the warm thoughts of Kara holding her, she began to panic before she remembered the loose board below the stairs. She hurried to the back room and pulled it away from the rest of the boards and wriggled into the space below the steps, she had barely replaced the board when heavy steps filled the room. She listened, breathing as quietly as possible, Kara protested loudly as she followed whoever was searching her home. The person ignored her and began moving around crates of tools and opening cabinets. The sound of glass breaking and metal clattering to the floor made Lena flinch.

"What's upstairs?" Lex's voice was unmistakable, as he stopped at the foot of the steps. 

Kara didn't answer, simply resumed her earlier protests, demanding that Lex leave and insisting that Lena wasn't here. 

Lex huffed and moved up the stairs, they creaked in protest above Lena's head, she held her breath. She heard him stomp around, shuffling things about before he asked more questions, his tone snide, "Where did all these books come from?" 

"My father left them for me when he died," Kara said evenly, "He taught at a ministry when I was young," 

Lex was silent, Lena knew he was staring at Kara with hostile eyes, waiting for her to crack under the weight of them, but eventually, he moved on, rummaging for several tense minutes before making his way downstairs, Kara close on his tail. 

Before they could make it to the main part of the building Lex stopped, there was a shuffle of fabric and a small grunt from Kara, "I know she's here, we will find her, and when we do..." he trailed off, leaving the rest up to Kara's imagination. But Lena knew exactly what he meant, knew exactly what horrors awaited Kara at the end of Lex's threat. The sound of feet hitting the ground and a sudden gasp for breath had Lena's dread bleeding into boiling red-hot fury 

Lena waited, listening as Kara showed her unwelcome guests out, listened as the door slammed harshly, as the sharp snap of reigns and the thunder of hooves echoed down the street and disappeared. 

She waited for Kara to call her name into the empty shop and only made noise when she heard Kara say that it was safe. She gave a call and found herself being helped out from under the stairs, found herself being cradled gently to Kara's chest. She felt her anger dissipate into the air around them as Kara wrapped her in her arms. She didn't cry, she simply breathed, in and out until her legs felt stable enough to stand on. Even though she as confident in her ability to walk, she allowed Kara to help her to the bedroom, allowed Kara to help her into the nightshirt she had borrowed; let herself curl into Kara's side and fall asleep to the soothing sound of her heart. 

//////////// 

They awoke the next morning to frantic knocking at the door, sudden panic filling both of them as they struggled to untangle themselves. Lena stood in the back room, still a mess from Lex's ransacking the night before, and Kara answered the door. Jack pushed his way in, in a panicked flurry, and spouting words faster than his brain could put them together. Lena rushed to him, grabbing his shoulders, looking him in the eyes, and demanding to know what was wrong. 

"Lex and Lillian are on their way," his eyes were wild, his breathing still heavy as he began pacing the room, worrying his hands and smoothing his hair anxiously. 

"Jack, we know, they came last night and searched the place," Lena gestured around the mess of the shop, Jack spun, his eyes bordering on manic. 

"You don't understand, they're coming back," he seemed near tears, he was shaking, his breathing erratic, "You have to run now, you can't let them get ahold of you," he turned on Kara, "if they find her here they'll kill you," 

"What is it you always say about me, Lena? 'Speak of the devil, and she shall call?'" the air solidified under Lillian's scrutiny, she strode to Lena, looking down on her, she smiled wickedly and placing a vice grip on her daughter's wrist. Lex laughed from the doorway, moving to step inside. 

The blur of a fist connected with Lillian's jaw before she could wrench Lena towards the door. Four pairs of shocked eyes landed on Jack as he cradled his hand to his chest, he looked as surprised as they did. Lex made the first move, his path to Jack intercepted by Kara as she drove her heel into his sternum with all the power she could muster. There was a sickening crack, he fell to his knees with a cry, the fight was over before it began. 

Lillian gave a wail, fury in her eyes, "You filthy wretch!" she charged at Kara, only to be felled by Lena hooking her foot around her adopted mother's ankle. She joined her writhing son on the floor. They were seething, though Lex had trouble showing it through his anguish. 

"Jack, would you take them back to the estate, please?" Lena didn't look in his direction, she was staring absently through Kara to Lillian and Lex, "I don't wish to see them any longer, they put a damper on my good mood." 

Jack nodded through his own shock, Kara helped him move Lex to the coach they had come in, and he rode away with them, back to the Luthor estate. 

Kara and Lena stood in silence for a long minute after the others left, until Kara broke the quiet, "Are you alright?" 

And to her own surprise, Lena laughed, she laughed loud and unbridled, and it was clear that Kara wasn't sure what to do, but she laughed on, unable to stop until she grew desperate for air. Kara lead her to a chair and sat her down before she could collapse, and Lena's hysterics reached a fever-pitch before she suddenly calmed as she came to a horrific conclusion, "They're going to come back and kill us," guilt began to set in, "I should never have left. I should never have come here, never have ruined the nice life you have here, I am so sorry Kara," her eyes burned. 

Kara rubbed her back, cradling Lena's head to her stomach as Lena sobbed into her shirt, she groped desperately at Kara, grabbing fistfuls of cloth as she wailed and apologized over and over again, and when she finally felt that she had no more tears within her she pulled back and wiped her face on her sleeve. Kara sunk to her knees in front of Lena, cupping both hands around Lena's law and lifting her eyes to meet her own, "Lena, please don't apologize for coming here, you've made me happier than I've been in as long as I can remember," 

Lena felt as though she may cry again, there was something in Kara's eyes, something impossibly soft, something she had never taken note of before. Kara pressed a lingering kiss to Lena's forehead and stood up, "I suppose we should want to make ourselves scarce?" 

Lena nodded. 

"I can work on that, you rest, I'll be back soon." 

Lena tried to protest, but Kara stopped her with a look, she resigned up the stairs to sleep, leaving Kara to her scheming. 

//////// 

Lena woke to the sound of Kara speaking lowly with someone in the shop. She made her way down the stairs as quietly as the whining wood allowed, catching the tail end of a conversation between Kara and a man with a deep, fatherly voice. 

"Take care of her Kara, love her, don't hide from her, she's once in a lifetime," his voice was low and kind like he knew more than most ever would. 

Lena turned into the shop as the door closed, and a barrel-chested man passed by the window on his way out. The air was heavy with something Lena couldn't place; Kara's eyes told her that the carpenter was deep within her own head. Lena often wondered what Kara thought of, wondered about the thoughts that didn't spill out in her animated ramblings. She wondered about the thoughts that left Kara's eyes far away, immersed in a place that only she could see. 

"Kara, darling, is everything alright?" she tried to keep her tone playful and was rewarded with Kara's beaming smile. The smile she always wore when Lena called her darling or dear. 

"I'm great, you just missed J'onn though," it was obvious that she cared for him, that she thought highly of him, "he owed me a favor," 

"Oh? Care to elaborate on that?" Lena said through a mischievous grin and an arched brow. 

Kara beamed, taking Lena's hand and leading her to the front porch of the shop, explaining that Kara had done some work for J’onn in exchange for an I.O.U. As they exited the shop, she gestured proudly at a wagon affixed to two large chestnut horses, "Behold, my lady, your golden chariot," 

Lena couldn't help but laugh as she watched Kara race back into the shop, coming back with a crate of tools, placing them upon the back of the wagon. Lena wanted to tell Kara not to bother with it, that she could make her own way, so Kara wouldn't have to uproot her life to run away with the bastard daughter of a wealthy nobleman. But she said nothing, the selfish part of her gagged her with the words in her throat and watched as Kara loaded the last of her things into the wagon. 

"Where exactly are we going?" Lena was desperate for a distraction from the thoughts that threatened to pull her under. 

"My mother and sister live on a small farm outside the village of Midvale, they will be happy to take us in," Kara worked on fastening her tools to her wagon, Lena must have let her distress show because Kara tacked on, "Lena, you said it yourself, we can't stay here, they'll come back and kill me regardless of whether you're here or not," 

Lena wasn't sure when Kara got so good at reading her but found that she didn’t much mind that she had. 

"Besides, I've been looking for an excuse to go home for some time now," 

Lena nodded, unsure as to why the thought of meeting Kara's family filled her with such sudden nervous energy. She watched Kara enter the shop again for a long moment before she emerged with Lena's stack of books tied up neatly with twine, they were placed gingerly onto the wagon, Kara's signal that they were ready to leave. 

////////////////// 

They decided to stay overnight at a small inn halfway to Midvale. They paid for the room before setting out to explore the small town. They found most of the typical goings-on, a blacksmith, a market, and a small courthouse adjoined to a barbershop. They had all but cut their losses within the hour when Lena noticed a small dress shop tucked away in the corner of town. 

Without hesitation, Kara took Lena's hand and towed her into the shop. 

They browsed lazily, eating time before they returned to the room. Lena took in the dresses with disinterest until her eyes fell upon a simple blue affair on a wooden mannequin. No corsets, no expensive lace or ostentatious frill, just a nice dress the same shade of blue as Kara's eyes. 

She lingered for a moment before continuing on indifferently through the store. She had traversed all the displays when she realized that Kara was gone from her side. She had slipped away to the counter, where she spoke quietly with the young woman at the register. They nodded in mutual understanding before Kara returned to Lena's side. 

"Flirting with the shopkeep?" she didn't think much of the comment, didn't consider the implications of it, but as Kara's face went scarlet and she stood with her mouth agape she began to backpedal, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply that you-" 

Kara's mind seemed to catch up suddenly, "No, no it's fine, I just didn't expect such a comment from you," her smile was sheepish. 

Lena dutifully ignored some of the underlying implications and wound back up with another joke, "So there are some people you do expect them from?" 

A nervous laugh bubbled up from within Kara and rocked back on her heel, "Alex likes to tease me whenever we're together," 

They left it at that until they made it to the street, only then did Lena dare to open her mouth again, dare to ask a question that may cost her her closest friend, "But, do you, um, fancy women?" 

Kara remained silent, staring down at the dirt path, hands deep in the pockets of her trousers. It was answer enough. 

"It is no abhorrence to me, I...do as well," she said with only a moment's hesitation but knew it was worth it when Kara looked up, relief in her eyes. Relief and something else that Lena dared not examine too closely. 

/////////////////// 

The rough straw bed of the inn was much less tolerable when Kara's arms weren't wrapped around her. The sun shining through the thin drapes and the sounds of the world waking up outside was the final push she needed to extract herself from the linen sheets. Once on her feet, Lena came face to face with a plain paper parcel on the trunk next to the bed, in small deliberate charcoal letters was a note reading "open me" punctuated with a small heart. 

She tentatively pulled the twine from the parcel and let it fall to the warped floor, the paper crinkled and fell open to reveal a mass of blue fabric. Lena's hands shook as she let the fabric unfurl into the dress she had seen the day before. Kara. Kara had bought her the dress, noted her briefest glance of interest, and painstakingly written her the short note. 

Her lip trembled as she pulled the dress on, her movements almost frenzied, she had just begun struggling with the ribbon that held the back closed when Kara pushed through the door, grinning brightly, holding a fresh loaf of bread and some ham. 

Kara's face flushed, as it had in the dress shop, and Lena couldn't care about the state of the lace as she threw herself around Kara's shoulders. A few stray tears soaked into Kara's shirt as Lena clung to her, "You're too good to me, Kara, far too good," the declaration was damp with tears, but Lena couldn't care, she just tucked her nose closer to Kara's neck. Kara wrapped her arms carefully around Lena, pressing her cheek to Lena's head. Lena could feel Kara's proud smile against her hair. 

"You like it?" Kara whispered against her ear after a long minute in Lena's embrace. 

Lena pulled back with a laugh, wiping the remains of her tears with her palms and nodding, "I love it more than words," 

Kara moved to set the food she'd acquired on the trunk where the dress had sat, turning to see Lena holding the front of her dress close to her chest, " Perhaps you'd like a hand?" 

"Please." 

"of course, my lady," Lena could hear the impish smile in Kara's voice and just shook her head as Kara took the strands of ribbon and began pulling them together gently. 

Lena's breath once again grew tight in her lungs, the way they had when Kara guided her hands in the shop, the feeling of Kara's knuckles brushing along her back, moving her hair over her shoulder, the featherlight touches at the nape of her neck, the warmth swelled in her once more. She could no longer ignore it, the feelings that Kara evoked in her, the way she wished for Kara to cease her lacing, for her to press her lips to the skin where her shoulder met her neck. The fact that the feelings were beginning to venture beyond simple lust, beyond an objective attraction, they ran deeper than that, the way her heart ached at the thought of leaving Kara, the way she longed to hold her late into the night, the way she longed to know every last thing there was to know about Kara. She was falling in love with her. Or perhaps she'd already fallen. 

////////////////// 

In the last leg of the ride to Midvale, they swapped stories of their youths. Kara reminisced about the Danvers' taking her in when she was young, sharing stories of how she and Alex had been the town heathens, running amuck, climbing trees, stealing their fruit. Lena told her about making friends with the kitchen staff and sneaking extra dessert when Lillian wasn’t lurking. 

Lena had just finished a story about breaking a suiters toe while dancing so he would stop breathing his rum breath in her face when Kara announced that they had arrived. She pulled the wagon up to a squat wooden building, and her nerves came to life once more. She followed Kara to the door in a haze, Kara knocked, and a woman with dark auburn hair appeared on the other side. Her eyes went wide, she reached out and felt Kara's shoulder gently, she seemed to decide that Kara was real and grabbed her, pulling her in, clinging to her. The tips of her fingers dug into the skin of Kara's back, Kara held gently around her shoulders and rocked them softly back and forth. When they finally separated the woman, presumably Alex, knocked the heel of her palm against Kara's shoulder, pushing the carpenter back a step. 

"Why didn't you write? or visit? You ass, we worried about you," She berated Kara, but her words lacked any real bite. 

Just as Alex seemed to take note of Lena hovering behind Kara, a second voice sounded from within the house, "Alex, dear, who's at the door?" 

An older woman with greying hair emerged over Alex's shoulder, a vase of flowers fell from her hands clattering to the floor but refusing to break. Eliza mirrored Alex's greeting, holding her daughter like a lifeline before pulling away to examine her face. 

"Look at you, just how much you've grown, my beautiful girl," Eliza held Kara's face, much like Kara had held Lena's just a few days prior. Gentle and caring.

Alex cleared her throat, "So, Kara, who's your friend?" 

Kara shot Alex a glare for her smug tone before introducing "the grand lady Luthor." 

"Just Lena will suffice," She subtly wiped her hand on her new dress, which proved redundant as Eliza pulled her in for a warm hug. 

"It's lovely to meet you, Lena," she said over Lena's shoulder. 

/////////////// 

Lena stood on the back porch with Eliza, watching as Kara and Alex chopped wood in the yard. They had made tea for the pair and called them to the porch with a shrill whistle. They stopped, dropping what they were holding, sharing a glance, then bolting, racing each other to the house. They arrived in a fit of giggles and jibes, Kara beamed at Lena, accepting a cup daintily and sipping the tea with a grin. 

"You two should start cleaning up soon, it's getting late, I wouldn't want the wolves to get you," Eliza teased and watched as Kara and Alex made a show of finishing their drinks and rushing back to their work. 

Kara and Alex joined them again on the porch once the tools were away, and the wood was stacked neatly against the house. They sat in creaky chairs and watched the vibrant sky melt away to reveal the stars underneath while Kara and Lena recalled their adventures. Lena watched as Alex and Eliza shared a look as Kara went on about how she snuck the dress into the room and the way Lena cried her thanks into her shoulder. 

They sat and laughed until the full moon shone down on them, making the grass glow, and the trees stand out against the sky. Eliza moved to get up, announcing that it was time to go inside and sleep, Alex rose to follow, only stopping when Kara held Lena back on the porch. 

"I was going to take Lena to the willow by the lake if that's alright with you?" the question was directed at Lena, and the explanation seemed enough for Eliza and Alex, who shared another look before disappearing inside. 

Kara turned to Lena, waiting for her answer, smiling in a way that almost looked painful when Lena took her hand and told her to lead the way. 

The lake proudly displayed the moon's reflection on the surface of its waters. The banks were alive with the buzz of insects and the periodic croaking of frogs. The tree that Kara had brought her to was tall and old, with blooms falling around them here and there. They sat at the edge of the tree’s thick sheet of blossoms, looking out at the still water of the pond, the sounds of the wildlife sinking into Lena's bones. Kara reached over and took her hand, lacing her long, rough tipped fingers through Lena's delicate ones. Her heart swelled, her breath tightening in the way it always did when Kara was close. The feeling bubbled and grew, filled her, pressurized and volatile, but this time there was no buffer. There was no dress to lace, no sudden interruption at the moment of eruption, she was left to boil over and suffer the repercussions when they came. Her head turned once more, finding Kara closer than she had anticipated, close enough to share breath, close enough that her every wispy hair stood on end. J’onn was right, Kara was once in a lifetime, she was not something to hide from. 

"May I kiss you?" the question hardly penetrated the humid air around the pond. Kara's eyes shone with moonlit hope, desperately watching Lena, anxiously awaiting an answer. 

Lena could no longer hold it inside of her, the pressure in her released in a sigh as she pressed her lips firm against Kara's, everything that had been mounting inside of her came spilling out, poured from her wanton lips into Kara's very soul. It was the most perfect moment she had ever experienced. More perfect than ruining any thousands of shoes, more perfect than any fit she could ever give Lillian. Every trace of worry and uncertainty melted from her, slipping through the cracks of Kara's fingers and onto the ground at their feet, and for once in her life, under the gentle weight of Kara's hands, Lena felt that she could breathe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After writing and rewriting this chapter about three times I'm finally happy with it, and I hope that you all will be too

Kara and Lena sat crouched in the garden, pulling weeds and instigating mud fights. Lena dropped dirt onto Kara's hand from a weed root, Kara flicked the dirt onto Lena's dress, before long Kara was on her feet with a lump of mud held aloft, poised to throw, it's intended trajectory would lead it directly to Lena's midsection. Before it could be volleyed, the sound of hoof falls caught her attention, she turned from Lena and surveyed the dirt path in front of the house. A soft dirt clod broke across Kara's back, but before she could retaliate, Jack's voice filled the air.

"Oh, thank whatever is mighty and merciful, you're safe!" the words rushed out in a relieved breath as he collapsed over onto the neck of his horse. 

Jack slid from his saddle and rushed to Lena before she could offer any sort of greeting, wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisting her into his arms, spinning her before setting her back gently on the ground. Alex and Eliza emerged from the house, baited by curiosity, Jack offered them an enthusiastic wave. 

"Alex, Eliza, this glorious baffoon is Jack," Lena gave a sweep of her arms, motioning grandly to the towering man at her side, Kara snickered quietly at his indignant gasp. 

Alex offered her hand for him to shake, "Nice to finally meet you, Jack, we've heard so much about you," her teasing smile was met with a scoff.

"Don't come crying to me next time you need help escaping the aristocracy, I won't help if all you're just going to defame me!" Jack sounded nearly scandalized, he reached out to ruffle Lena's hair only to have his hand batted away as Lena ducked behind Kara for protection. A fatal mistake. A hand print's worth of half-dried mud came to rest on her cheek. Jack cackled, Lena looked to Alex and Eliza in a silent plea for help, they simply stood, arms crossed over their chests, brows hiked in judgment. 

Eliza shook her head affectionately, turning towards the house and announcing that she was making tea to welcome Jack. Soon everyone sat crowded around Eliza's small dining table with mugs of tea, Kara turned sideways in her seat, gently scrubbing the dried mud from Lena's cheek. Lena smiled, told her she needn't grovel, but Kara persisted on. When at last, the soft, peachfuzz hairs let go of the hardened flakes of dirt, Kara dropped the rag onto the table and pressed a tender kiss to the freshly cleaned skin.

Jack and Lena took to reminiscing, sharing stories of growing up within the cold walls of the Luthor estate together, delighting all over again at Lillian's disdainful glare when they fought battles in makeshift armor with swords made from switches. Jack had taught her how to hide notes in the curve of her palm, how to slip unnoticed through the unending corridors of the Luthor estate when the moon hung high, how to burgle biscuits from the kitchen and eat them on the plush rug in her bedroom. Though in hindsight, the kindly old man who ran the kitchen most definitely knew of his young pair of thieves.

"Before I left, I heard Lillian making plans to send a posse of armed men to Kara's shop, I'm afraid that it won't be safe to return, even on the off-chance that they leave the building standing" Jack solemnly informed once conversation lulled.

The air felt strange as it was stirred about the group until Lena rolled conversation over onto Alex and Eliza. They talked until the stars came out to stand guard for the heavens, but not a single moment passed in which Lena didn't chew on Jack's words, not even as she settled into bed with Kara curled around her back, tracing letters and shapes at random over the thin fabric covering Lena's stomach. Though ever so slowly, the gentle, present reminder of Kara's presence and the warm metronome of her warm breath against the back of Lena's neck lulled her to sleep.

When Lena awoke, the sun had yet to break over the horizon, and Kara was nowhere to be found. She was teetering over the edge of panic when she found the small slip of paper, the message was scratched in Kara's small deliberate lettering. 

_The willow on the bank is beautiful in the morning light, but not so much as you._

She wasn't sure when Kara learned to be so delightfully cryptic, but she certainly was going to have to find out.

She set out to the lake, to the tree where she finally learned the taste of Kara's lips. She found her propped against its trunk, approaching quietly, and speaking softly to avoid spooking her, "A bit dark to be skipping stones, don't you think?" the reflection of the sinking moon off the water danced wildly across Kara's face.

Kara sighed, pulling Lena gently in front of her, holding her tight; she tucked her nose into the defined dip between Lena's shoulder and collarbone, shrouding her in the lingering scent of wildflower and woodsmoke that seemed to always cling to her skin. She found comfort in the pressings of gentle kisses to the exposed skin around her collar, the repetition of it soothing her hectic thoughts, the weight of Kara's arms around her waist tethered her to the ground. The night dwelling insects sang gently to them, the limbs around them, hung heavy with flowers, chimed quiet harmonies with the toads. 

"I'm sorry I got your shop destroyed," Lena let the words curl off her tongue, falling heavily into the dirt at her feet.

"It's not your fault," Kara mumbled into Lena's hair as she nuzzled closer and kissed the nape of her neck.

"They only did it because I left, because I came to you,"

"But if you hadn't, then I would be without you, and I would much rather have you than a lonely carpentry shop," this time she punctuated it with a light kiss to the shell of Lena's ear.

"My birth mother owned a bit of land up north, my father told me that she left it to me when she died," Lena spoke, the air around them seemed to still, "I had all but forgotten about it, until now, but I have been thinking that we might travel north, just to see the state it's in, perhaps even settle on it, if we like it," Lena's hands wrung nervously in front of her, her fingers locking together, pulling free, locking once more. 

Lena turned in Kara's arms, her troubled hands found purchase in the fabric of her loose cotton shirt. The question was clear in Kara's eyes, one that Lena hoped desperately to assage, "I would love nothing so well as to have you there with me, should you be so inclined as to follow suit,"

The willow branches watched on as Kara lifted her hands to swipe the loose hairs from Lena's face, as she pressed sweet kiss upon sweet kiss to Lena's lips until her nose crinkled with a smile, "My dear, sweet, loving Lena, I would follow you to the ends of the Earth if you would be so inclined as to have me,"

The first slivers on the sun had hardly managed to claw their way up into the sky when Kara and Lena returned to the house. They entered quietly, moving about to make breakfast enough for five. The house began to stir as Kara laid salt pork on the heated grates over the fire. As the rest filtered into the small dining/kitchen area, they found Kara and Lena moving about one another gracefully, plating and serving the modest meal. Their movements weren't practiced, they simply were, just the natural step that they fell into. Once everyone was seated and filling their mouths, Lena looked to Kara for confirmation. A look that everyone else at the table took note of. 

"What are you two looking so conspiratorial about?" Alex demanded wearily.

Jack was quick to piggyback off of Alex, "Have you finally poisoned me? Too fed up with knowing I'm the pretty one?" 

The news of the northern property sent Alex and Jack into a flurry of excitement, one that dampened only when they realized that it meant Kara and Lena were leaving. They spent the day packing small bits of necessities, and when the sun rose again, they were sent off with a teary farewell. Lena wrapped Jack in a tight hug, once more offering to let him come with.

"No, you go, I'll just have to find some new rich girl to get into trouble," even as he said it tears soaked into his beard.

"You can always come to visit, I'll never say no to your trouble,"

They rode waving their goodbyes until the Danvers' and Jack were gone from view. They rode along the bare rutted earth, from village to village, stopping here and there at inns and bars, betting men out of their savings and sharing lumpy straw beds that poked at them through their nightshirts. 

Their progress north was slow but sure, exploring villages and woods, enjoying the freedom that came with traveling. They eventually found themselves a bustling trade city to rest in for a bit, to recharge and wander about. A dress shop and a bakery into the day's adventures found them in the open square of a market. Vendors sold goods from carts and stands, and Kara was distracted by a man selling bright blue beads on leather strings. They meandered about aimlessly until the sun began to sink. They stopped in the dining area of the inn, eating and listening to the mindless chatter around them, and Lena couldn't help but laugh at the rumors of the Luthor's ill-controlled daughter running away with a group of low-lives. 

When the morning broke through the gauzy inn curtains, Lena found herself alone, once again Kara's presence was replaced with a small box, tied in twine. Though this one opened to reveal a small necklace, it was thin, lacking in the typical diamonds and jewels that the needlessly wealthy enjoyed, but it held a small polished stone, with an L carved carefully into the side, in Kara's small deliberate lettering. The other side held a slightly lopsided heart.

Lena was nearly in tears when she found Kara stationed outside the inn, organizing the load in the wagon and checking the horses over. She all but threw herself into Kara's arms, heedless of the people around them. 

"I don't know what I've done to deserve you, Kara, but I am thankful every day that I did it," it was nearly sobbed into Kara's shoulder.

"You're you, that's all," Kara whispered into her neck, gently rubbing her hands along Lena's back.

Lena hardly let Kara's hand go for the rest of the ride, and when she was forced to, she simply looped her arm around her elbow.

They soon found themselves the proud owners of a small cobbled cottage that Kara immediately set to fixing up, within a month it was utterly quaint, with hanging window baskets overflowing with petunias and thyme, thick ivy covered half the walls, and a young willow tree did its best to shade the front door. Within a few years, Kara became a reputable carpenter in the nearby village, and Lena worked teaching those who wished to learn and helping Kara in their new shop. No one questioned them, where they came from, who they were, why Lena knew how to read, none of it mattered to them. 

And so, as Lena lay on Kara's chest, sprawled on the grass and covered in dirt from yet another vegetable garden mud fight, watching the willow sway, sending blossoms to float out and cover the grass. Kara read to her from their favorite book of poetry. Her pieces were in place, locked tightly with Kara's, and she was happy, truly happy, forever freed from the constricting formality of the Luthor estate, its stifling company and practiced grace, she was free, free to be happy, free and cherished and unfettered, free to be safe and at home within the callused hands of her tender carpenter's love.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I hope you enjoyed it! Heres my [Tumblr](https://yeahitsdee.tumblr.com/) if you're interested in that. I appreciate all feedback, corrections, and kudos that you all leave!


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